England defender Lucy Bronze is helping the “shy” and “misinterpreted” Lauren James navigate the increasingly bright spotlight shining on the 21-year-old after her historic turn at the World Cup.
The Chelsea forward became the first England player to be involved in five or more goals in a match at either a men’s or women’s World Cup when she scored twice and added three assists in the Lionesses’ 6-1 win over China on Tuesday.
Bronze, one of just two England players to have featured in the last three World Cups, has found a kindred spirit in inquisitive debutant James who is a decade her junior.
She said: “When she came into her first camp she was already asking me a lot of questions about things that other players didn’t ask. I think we have formed a bond, we are in similar situations.
“I was thrust into the limelight in a different way but I can help give her advice. I can help keep her feet on the ground but she is good at that anyway. She’s someone like myself who gets misinterpreted a little bit by other players or the media because she hasn’t always got a smile on her face.
“She is quite shy like I used to be. She reminds me so much of myself when I was younger. She is shy but she believes in herself a lot. She’s a lovely girl and wants the team to do well more than anything.”
James perhaps is the epitome of a player who wants her football to do the talking. Gracious but succinct, her answers to the two questions allowed by organisers in the post-match press conference lasted all of a combined 57 words.
Writing in the Times, ex-Manchester United manager Casey Stoney, who signed James as a 16-year-old, also remembered her as someone who “never enjoyed the spotlight” with a “laid-back personality” that sometimes worked against her when others mistakenly believed that meant the Londoner did not “want it” enough.
Bronze knows just what it is like to make a headline-grabbing impact on football’s biggest stage.
In 2015, then 23 and playing in her first World Cup, Bronze broke a 1-1 deadlock in the 76th minute against Norway to fire the Lionesses into the quarter-finals and hand them a first-ever win in the knockout stage.
Third place in Canada that year remains England’s best-ever finish at the global showpiece, and Bronze knows it will take more than one person for the European Champions to upgrade their silverware in 2023.
She said: “I can’t expect LJ to score in every game and turn in performances like she did against China in every game. She is still young and she’s still getting to grips with playing at the highest level, but you have seen her at Chelsea and she has delivered some fantastic performances.
“We don’t just rely on LJ, we’ve got other players who can step up, but she is fantastic. I know how much quality she has. She has definitely announced herself on the world stage, but this is just the beginning.”
Group D winners England have returned to their Terrigal, New South Wales training base and will on Sunday fly to Brisbane ahead of their meeting with Nigeria in the last 16 the following day.
While the status of midfielder Keira Walsh remains unknown, she has stayed in Australia after sustaining a knee injury in England’s 1-0 victory over Denmark in the group stage.
England boss Sarina Wiegman got creative in Walsh’s absence, employing a 3-5-2 system that seemed to spark the Lionesses to life against China.
While words like ‘dominant’ and ‘consistent’ are often used as descriptors for world number four side England, Wiegman has with one inspired decision added unpredictability into the mix.
Bronze added: “Keira is irreplaceable, there isn’t anyone who can do what she does in the world.
“A lot of teams have studied England, they have wanted to beat England being the European champions. We have shuffled things about a little bit and it keeps other teams on their toes.
“They don’t know what to expect, it makes us unpredictable.
“If Keira does come back and play, who is to say how we will play?”
KC, JC through to Manning Cup semis as champs Mona booted
A new ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup champion will be crowned after Kingston College (KC) registered a decisive 2-0 victory over reigning titleholders Mona High in their Group A quarterfinal showdown at Stadium East on Friday.
Kvist Paul (8th) and Demario Dailey (70th) did the damage for Kingston College in a win that not only ended Mona's campaign but also propelled the North Street-based team into the semifinals alongside Jamaica College (JC), who trounced Tivoli High 4-0 in a simultaneous fixture at the Ashenheim Stadium.
By virtue of the results, Jamaica College topped the group on seven points, one point ahead of Kingston College (six points), while Tivoli High (three points) and Mona High (one point) will now turn their focus to the Walker Cup knockout competition for redemption.
Kingston College’s Head coach, Vassell Reynolds, lauded his team's composure and execution.
"It was a fantastic performance. We knew Mona would come out strong, but the boys stuck to the game plan and delivered when it mattered. Now, we look ahead to the semifinals, but as always, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. The aim is to keep the boys grounded and focused, and we will see what happens when that time comes,” Reynolds said.
With a lot at stake for Mona in particular heading into the contest, it was expected to be a close affair, but the manner in which Kingston College started ensured otherwise.
In fact, Mona had very little say in the contest as Kingston College’s show of intent resulted in an early strike inside 10 minutes. Damaine Smith delivered a perfectly placed corner kick, which Paul rose to meet and headed past Mona's goalkeeper, Riquelme Edwards.
Mona High, desperate to respond, almost found themselves further behind in the 15th minute when Dailey fired wide from a promising position.
As Mona struggled to contain Kingston College’s tactical discipline and attacking enterprise, Deshawn Byfield almost added his name to the scoresheet but had his effort dramatically cleared off the line by Dante Peralto.
Despite KC’s dominance, Mona’s goalkeeper Edwards produced a string of superb saves to keep his team in contention.
Just before halftime, he acrobatically parried a powerful shot from Kajay Fletcher, diving full stretch to his right, and Byfield failed to capitalize on the rebound.
Seconds later, Edwards was called upon again to deny a stinging shot from Smith.
Matrim Martin then unleashed a venomous right-footer, but Edwards once more stood tall, ensuring the scoreline remained 1-0 at the break.
The purples continued to assert their authority on the resumption as Dailey threatened in the 68th with a firm shot from close range that went straight at Edwards.
However, the Kingston College striker, sporting the number nine jersey, made amends two minutes later. Sent on his way by a brisk through pass, Dailey powered a low drive past a flat-footed Edwards to double Kingston College’s lead and effectively end Mona’s hopes of a comeback.
Clarke hails solid Scotland as Croatia win boosts Nations League survival hopes
Steve Clarke credited Scotland's defensive resilience after they boosted their hopes of remaining in the top tier of the Nations League by beating Croatia 1-0 at Hampden Park.
John McGinn came off the bench to score the all-important goal as Scotland took advantage of Petar Sucic's sending-off to claim their first win of the 2024-25 Nations League campaign.
The result – coupled with Poland's crushing 5-1 defeat in Portugal – means Scotland will stave off automatic relegation to League B if they win in Warsaw on Monday.
While Clarke felt Scotland could have done more with the ball, he was impressed both with their off-the-ball work and with the impact of super sub McGinn.
"My first thoughts when I came off the pitch were that we could play better," Clarke said.
"We could be more clinical when we get to the final third of the pitch. The sending off changed the game, but we were due a little break.
"This is a group of players that want to be successful, want to do well for their country.
"That's another clean sheet, two in a row. If you don't concede goals, you always have a chance to win the game.
"It was nice to get John on the pitch and I thought his finish was really good because it wasn't easy. It was nice to be able to look at the bench behind and know we had people who could come on and affect the game. It's nice when we get everybody fit and available."
The victory was Scotland's first in a competitive match since September 2023, when they beat Cyprus 3-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying.
They had gone 10 games without a competitive victory since then, drawing four and losing six, including a return of just one point from three outings at Euro 2024.
Denmark 1-2 Spain: Oyarzabal and Perez on target as Roja secure top spot
Spain secured top spot in Group A4 of the Nations League with one match to spare after defeating Denmark 2-1 in Copenhagen.
Mikel Oyarzabal and Ayoze Perez were on the scoresheet as the unbeaten Roja made it four wins and a draw to pull six points clear of the second-placed Danes.
Luis de la Fuente's side capitalised on a poor pass from Denmark centre-back Jannik Vestergaard to open the scoring as Oyarzabal latched on to a ball from Perez and finished past Kasper Schmeichel in the 15th minute.
Villarreal forward Perez then doubled the visitors' lead in the 58th minute after Dani Olmo turned provider with a defence-splitting pass.
The hosts reduced the deficit with six minutes of regulation time left, as Fabian Ruiz's back pass to goalkeeper David Raya was intercepted by Gustav Isaksen, who had been denied by the woodwork moments earlier, and he slotted into an open goal to set up a tense ending.
But the Spaniards held on for the win and will now face Switzerland in their final group game on Monday, before taking part in the quarter-finals, scheduled for March.
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